Artificial fur



Feb. 16, 1960 w, BURKHOLDEVR 2,925,359

ARTIFICIAL FUR Filed Dec. 3, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR WARD J. BURKHQLDER ATTORNEY Feb. 16, 1960 W; J. BURKHOLDER 7 2,925,359

' ARTIFICIAL FUR Filed Dec. 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Shae; 2

' -r c w C :1 c J 19 I FIG. 2

INVENTOR WARD J., BURKHOLDER ATTORNEY Burk-holder,v llou stonyi liex iassignor'to Diamond I Alkali Company; Cleveland, Qhio, a corporatiqn of e wa 1 v Application D'ecemheri 3, 1956; Serial"No.'-625816 s coat and generally to 'prcitefct themderfnr from matting It is" an; object of this invention to, pre are 'aitifici'al fiir lilte materials by'ahovelficeiii natiiimef proeess steps Aiilrther object of this "inven rr'is the'" preparation of artificial fur-like materials, in'af'cont-inuousymethodby a' series of novel-process stepstobedescribed mdre fnlly hereinaftergt ia novel aprocess for 'theimanf resiliency crane chemical composition," and the Weftof the guard-hair fjabri'cf'ca'n beta} monofilamentiof less resiliency and of entirely" difierent chemical composition; so

long-as both" materials; aresubstantially}- Unaffected bythe' I treatment which" later-employedto-remove the vrfa rpl" Wh'enit is desired to"simnla'te-a natural fin; o'nlyin durability" and" Warmth} the choice offibroilsfimaterials for the were of the guard-hair. and und'erfu'r is consider ably broadened: Thl'l'sthe' Weft-j of tli gtfald-hair and und'erfnr can be of?'either the same 'fibrous ma'tie'rial in different forms or theycan'beo 'cliif'erent fibronsmate rialst- As an example; the'weftbf the guard-hair can be a 'lon-rno nofilament ofrelatively arg'e"diameter while the weftbfthe 'iind'erfiir fabric canbe'fa {shorter iniilti filamencnylonyarn of 'lo'oselytsplrnconstruction. On the,

ot-liefr' 'handif the' weft material for the, guard-hair can" be a-- nylbnf monofilamentwhile the weft material forth'e' underfiinfabr'ic canbe made-of wool yarn. '{The inventiojn also contemp'lat e'sfthat" the fibers; employed forming,

"lfab ricecan be of-"heterogeneous"multi- I yarns cdn'iprising fibers" of nylon, wool, answer known'iirtlie angj-rromth foregoing; it willbeapparent thatithisf'invention is not restrictedto particular jtype of fibrous imaitrial. I In practice,- theifefore, the"physical -propertiestof"anykind' of fur can be determined and l with snch knowledge 9 the proper natural or synthetic fibers can be chosen to form the weft ofthe woven fabricr; Thechoicei of Iriaturaltor' synthetic fibers is;;'of eeurse; broad'andf; can'f inclnd'e anim'fa'hl vege lose" acetate "'polya'cryl Accordinglygthe invention'relat'es to, amethod df rnan I in .idths', with their widths";iif a substantiallyve "cal gas with 'ldweredgesqf said webs "in h we e K2 said co pla'na'r edges in a backing and treating said woven web; to removethe warp therefron' the p'rocess of this iiiven 1r thereis produced n artificial fur-like In, ma uraemring a s' ubstitute'- fnr in accordance with i "1: 9n, ,tWo-fabritisf are firstiwoventosiinulate the g r d thefgtiairdfl-fl lr''ofi the naturaljfiirl IiTllilS cdnnectiom the fibers or yarn employedfin weaving the atiijg th hysicalitnake-up' and strtic'ture ofwoven websof vary glass; *aswell as I any-of the various synthetic -fibers 1 avail:- able bor'nmerciallyf and 'mannfactured fronr such; as cellulpo ljyyinylfi'polyarnide; poly= ethylene; polyester; and: the like materials;

Thetwarp'of the.fabric. consists of any suitable fiber or'jrnaterial' that can he tte'at'edfeither physically or cheniica'lh to' removeit" vfrorn thewoven fabric; It: is importantandnecess'ary that the weft fibers" be resistant to any either chemical orphysicaL to whichthe the invention contemplates that 'tliewefr fibers (s 1 the woven fabric, afterthe removal of the W8ZIpifiblfS;Zb6-

' come the uprfghtjhair ofithe nnderfnr and guard-hair 'o'f't'he' artifitiialftir like" prodilcti Accordingly, the warp woven fabric can be selectedifrom' any; material a'dilutefacidor base or not affect; the weft of the woven fabric. 'lhus, the warp; can be made of a fabricarjeiseleeted accordingfto' the particular fur desired.

"mis s accomplished by 'iI knowledge or 'study ofthe physical andf chemical properties of the natural fur'to be simrilat'e'dll With knowledgefof the proprtiesof-the natilral fiirit is then "necessary to choose ors'elect a fiber on'ya'r'n that clesiel'y simulates; the properties of thef natura1. .;fiJ.r.- The particularlfiber or yarn" selected" is then employed to fcrn the weftflof the; fabric 'tobeqwoyen. The wa rp..matrial, i.e., the fiber or yarn to be employed m-weavin the, fabric, is; then selected from rr'l'ateri als 1 solve, .;de.compose, or, di s-integrate the. fiber; by the application of a chemical, chemicalsolution, or other physical,

chemical, or mechanical treatment,

fiaving thusi selected the weft andwarp materials} the fibers: are; then woven, into a fabric as. mentioned above, e:g:;,in10: ag uardi-hairfabric. and an nnderfunfabricf f'Ie'willa be" appreciated thatl in-simula'ting; a natnralfnr the: .fiberr selected ,for, -theegnard-hair t :alld the; iunderfur can .be; of: t; difierent physical; and chemical strhcture. Accordingly, the weft of the fabric constituting theundersoliihlema'teiialf uch; as polyvinyl'ialcohol or casein pro 'vided,} of cours e,, that theweft' fibers are nnafiected by either adilute acidfor water; I

'Itfis realized that'many fibers that are 'afiected' by a chemical reagent," foriexamp le', a dilute acid or base or are soluble in water, can befcher'nically treated to'lr'ender them, resistant tolsuch reaction; Accordingly, if desired, 7

the weft materials can be treated to render themi resistant to chemicalIreactions; while. the warp is left untreated'in order that. it'gcan be exposedt -such'chemicals anddissolved orv decomposedthereby It is apparent therefore,

that it is necessary thatthe fibers chosen for the weft and warp of theifabric belof such, a nature that either, chemical ori physical treatmentwill dissolve or decompose the warp of the: woven fabric/while. leaving the weft fibers substantially unafiectediin, the woven fabric. a h i In al preferred embodiment of this invention, two woven fabricsof'ditferent widths and consisting of distinct typ esof weft fibersland 'of a soluble or decomposable warp. or filling materialgare prepared by cutting'th'e ,fabric perpendicnlarlyYto, the; weft t'o'f form tapesof widths corresponding to the desired-'len gthof the A plurality of underfuryand guard-hair tapes are then arranged so that their width is in a vertical position and are placed in alternating arrangement, i.e., an underfur tape is sandwiched between a layer or web of guard-hair tape. The number of tapes arranged in such laminar fashion is .not critical and will depend either on the widthv of the strip of artificial fur desired and/or on the size of the apparatus used for carrying out the manufacture of the artificial fur. After lamination of the tape in the manner aforedescribed, a suitable resilient accuses or pliable permanent backing containing an adhesive composition and the like, is applied to one side, i.e., the lower side of the'edges of the tape. In applying the permanent backing, one edge of each upright tapeor web is positioned so that it lies in a common plane withthecorresponding edge of all other tapes. This arrangement is necessary since the shorter-width woven web, after removal of the warp or filling of the fabric is to become the shorter downy fiberof the underfur, while the longerwidth woven web fibers will. be the guard-hair of the simulated fur. The backing, with the lower edges of the laminated woven web anchored thereon, is nexttreated to' set or harden the binder or adhesive material. The fur-like structure, after this treatment, is then passed to a suitable container or vessel where the woven fabric is treated, e.g., with a chemical solution, to dissolve, decompose, or remove the warp. The artificial fur after this treatment is thus seen to consist of long guard-hairs and shorter underfur hairs consisting of the weft fibers anchored to a suitable permanent backing simulating the skin of the natural fur.

Any suitable material can be used for the backing of the fibers. Thus, the hacking or binding material can be of a thin soft pliable nature, for example, soft rubber. plastic, and the like. The backing can be reinforced, for example, with loosely knit fabric. The backing and/ or the edges of the vertical webs, as heretofore indicated, can be treated with a coating or adhesive, for example, a vinyl plastisol so that the ends of the fibers become embedded thereon.

A more complete understanding of the invention will follow from a detailed description of the accompanying drawings wherein;

Figure 1 shows an enlarged view of a woven fabric being slit perpendicular to the weft fibers in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a packing table depicting the general sequence of operations in the method of this invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents an enlarged view of a woven fabric 1 consisting of a soluble warp 2 and an insoluble weft 3. The fabric is mounted, for example, on a moving belt on a suitable structure (not shown) and is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow towards a rotating blade 4 positioned so as to cut or slit the fabric in a direction perpendicular to the weft. If desired, two additional rotating blades 5 and 6 can be positioned to cut a narrow strip from each edge of the fabric as indicated. This trimming operation is not necessary, however, since the webs or tapes 7 can be fed directly to a packing table or wound on rolls or spools as will be described more fully with reference to Figure 2.

In Figure 2 there is shown a general and somewhat fragmentary plan view of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the steps of this invention. In the drawings,

10 represents generally a packing table consisting of various moving belts and rollers to be described more fully below. Strips or webs 11 and 12 of two different widths representing the guard-hair and underfur and prepared as described above, are fed to the packing table as indicated. The woven webs can be taken directly from the cutting machine or machines as described in Figure 1 above or can be taken from rolls or spools. The webs are arranged so that the guard-hair webs 11 are placed adjacent to the underfur webs 12 so that they constitute plurality of alternating webs of different widths as indicated by numeral 13. In order that the webs can be fed edgewise, e.g.,- so that the wefts are in a vertical position, they can be turned through an angle of by a reed indicated generally at 14. The webs ofwoven fabric after being fed with their wefts in a vertical position are conveyed by a moving belt- 15 traveling at the speed of the feed rate and moving in a direction indicated by the arrow. Side belts 16 are provided to compact the web to the desired degree of contact and travel at the samespeed as the conveying belt 15. It should be mentioned that the moving belts 15 and 16 can be driven or actuated by any suitable power or variable speed driving means (not shown).

The side belts- 16 which-keepthe sandwiched strips or webs compressed move across to a second moving belt indicated generally at 17, traveling in the samedirection as belt 15 as indicated by the arrow. Provision is also made at 18 fora constant tension mechanism in order to keep the side belts 16 at the desired tension and thus control the. compactness of the web. Moving belt 17 can be suitably constructed of a metallic material-or other heat conductive material. p

The position indicated generally at 20, is where a suitable backing'or binder material is fed to and carried by movingbelt17. The moving belt 17 is' preferably heated from its undersurface in a heating zone indicated at. At point 20, a vinyl plastic sheet reinforced with knit fabric is lightly coated on the fabric side with, forexample, ,vinyl plastisol, by any suitable means, e.g., a brush or a coating roller (not shown),and is fed with itslcoated side up to a heated belt so that it lies between the oncoming web and the moving belt.

Before the laminated fabric webs reach the heated belt and coated plastic vinyl sheet, however, a plastisol applicator or roll ,21 positioned between belts 15 and 17 applies a coating of vinyl plastisol to the edges or root ends of the moving web- The roller preferably travels in the same direction as the web, but at a higher speed sothat the endsof the fibers are scrubbed with the plastisol. If desired, theroller can travel in a reverse direction at any appropriate speed to accomplish substantially'the same object.

Upon contact of the edges of the. web'fabric with the heated vinyl plasticsheet backing, the. fib'ers are embedded or anchored in the material, i.e., they are fused. The moving belt 17 then carries. the material to a cooling section indicated at 19 where the binder or adhesive is set or hardened. The final step in the process consistsof passing the fur-like material to a constant feed takeup device into a suitable vessel or other apparatus (not shown) to cause dissolution or decomposition of the warp fibers in the laminated web. After this the material can be dried and treated, i.e., brushing to remove any material remaining loose on the weft' fibers.

From the above description, it will be realized that the fibers remaining on the vinyl plastic sheet are the weft fibers of the thin strips of woven fabric. By virtue of having arranged the webs prior to feeding to the packing table in alternating fashion, i.e., having arranged the strips of varying width so that each layer of underfur is sandwiched between a layer of guard-air there is obtained a product simulating a natural fur with guard-hair and underfur.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of this invention, 'it'will be understood that various modifications can readily be made without departing from its true spirit. Thus, it is apparent that the continuous method of preparing a fur-like material can be modified so that the individual hairs or fibers of the laminated fur pan be; (I) of different lengths, (2) different diameters,

aoaasse 3) monoor multi-filament yarns or threads or both, (4) different colors, and (5) of different chemical and physical structure.

It should also be understood has been described with reference to substitutes for natural furs that it is applicable to the manufacture generally of fur-like materials, i.e., the fur-like physical structure consisting of an underfur and guard-hair. Thus, where it is desired to simulate natural furs only in warmth and durability as mentioned heretofore and not appearance, the choice of fibers canvary quite widely with regard to color, chemical properties, physical nature of the fibers, i.e., monoor multi-filament yarns or both.

Resort may be had to modifications and equivalents that fall within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of preparing an artificial fur which comprises the steps of forming a plurality of woven webs of varying widths, arranging said webs so that shorter weft webs are interposed between longer weft webs, compacting said webs with their widths in a vertical position, applying a backing material to one side of the lower vertical edgesof said webs, anchoring said edges to said backing material and thereafter dissolving the warp fibers from said woven webs. 1

that while the invention 6 I 4. A method of preparing an artificial fur-like ma- 1 terial which comprises the steps of forming a plurality of woven webs of alternating longer and shorter width webs, laminating the wefts with one edge of each web ina plane common to the corresponding edge of the other weft, anchoring said co-planarredges in a-backingmaterial and dissolving the warp from the woven webs.

. 5; A method of preparing an artificial fur-like ma.-v terial which comprises the steps of forming a plurality of woven webs of alternating longer and shorter width webs, laminating and compacting said webs with one edge of each web in a plane common to the corresponding edge of the other web, anchoring said co-planar edges in a-permanent backing and dissolving the warp from said webs. I

6. A method 'of preparing an artificial fur-like material which comprises the steps of forming a plurality of woven webs of varying widths, compacting said woven webs so as to form a plurality of woven webs of alternating longer and shorter width webs, applying a pliable backing to the lower edges of said web, anchoring said edges to said backing to produce a permanent attachment to said edges and dissolving the warp from said 2. A method of preparing an artificial fur which com I prises the steps of forming two woven fabric webs of difierent widths, a longer width fabric to serve as the guard-hair and a shorter width fabric to serve as the underfur, laminating said woven webs so as to form asubstantially vertical position and with the lower edges of said webs lying in a common plane, compacting said woven webs so as to form a plurality of woven webs of I co-planar edges in a backing'and dissolving the warp from said webs.

, alternating longer and shorter width webs, anchoring said web.

7. A method of preparing an artificial fur which comprises the steps of forming two woven fabric webs having alternating longer and shorter width-webs, one. a guard-hair and the otheran underfur, forming a plurality of said woven fabric webs by interposing an underfur web between the guard-hair webs, compacting said woven fabrics with their widths'in a vertical position, anchoring the lower edges of said woven webs to a permanent backing and thereafter dissolving the warp fibers from said web. I g

References Cited in the file of this patent v, UNITED STATES. PATENTS 1,194,874 Peterson Aug. 15, 1916 1,760,464 Achtmeyer May 27, 1930 2,226,631 Miller Dec. 31, 1940 2,621,104 Prew Dec. 9, 1952 p FOREIGNPATENTS 547,583 Great Britain Sept. 2, 1942 

1. A METHOD OF PREPARING AN ARTIFICIAL FUR WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF FORMING A PLURALITY OF WOVEN WEBS OF VARYING WIDTHS, ARRANGING SAID WEBS SO THAT SHORTER WEFT WEBS ARE INTERPOSED BETWEEN LONGER WEFT WEBS, COMPACTING SAID WEBS WITH THEIR WIDTHS IN A VERTICAL POSITION, APPLYING A BACKING MATERIAL TO ONE SIDE OF THE LOWER VERTICAL EDGES OF SAID WEBS, ANCHORING SAID EDGES TO SAID BACKING MATERIAL AND THEREAFTER DISSOLVING THE WARP FIBERS FROM SAID WOVEN WEBS. 